HAVING waited two hours for Tony Blair's reaction to yesterday's extraordinary news from Tehran, we got one minute of platitudes and a promise of more later. It is, I suppose, understandable that the Prime Minister did not want to say anything that might lead to a hitch in the release of the British sailors by the Tehran authorities, but his refusal to permit himself even a word of appreciation for the Iranian gesture suggests that relations between the two countries will remain tense in the near future.
For the moment, therefore, it is possible to assess the signifance of the release only by the decision itself and the words of President Ahmadinejad that accompanied it. Judged on that basis, yesterday's announcement seemed an extremely well-planned event which scored every point for Iran without allowing Britain any advantage. The plea to Mr Blair not to put the 15 released captives on trial for admitting that they had been in Iranian waters was a final twist. Whatever negotiations may have been taking place elsewhere in the past few days the fact remains Mahmoud Ahmadinejad played the cards dealt to him with remarkable skill yesterday. There have been persistent rumours that he is losing power in Iran's complex political structures but his performance yesterday did not give that impression. The open question is whether his gift to the British people is intended to make possible an improvement in relations or is to be seen only as cynical opportunism.
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